A North Yorkshire/York based charity which supports children with Down Syndrome has just been awarded a National Lottery grant of £10,000.
Shine21, which was established by two local mums to provide greater support for under 5s with Down Syndrome in York and North Yorkshire, will use the grant to help fund development sessions which focus on speech and language, and physiotherapy.
Despite being up and running for less than a year, and being founded at the height of a pandemic, Shine21 has gone from strength to strength – thanks to generous donations and grants such as the National Lottery funding.
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This financial help enables the children and their families to receive much-needed therapy and support both online and now in-person through the development groups.
Louise Mouncey, Chair of Shine21 who set up the charity with friend and fellow chair Helen Kel said, “We never dreamt Shine21 would become the charity it is today, so soon after starting it.
“The pandemic meant our opportunities to raise vital funds were limited. But the National Lottery funding has been an incredible achievement and will significantly increase the level of support and services we can now offer local families,” explained Louise.
The initial aim of Shine21’s development sessions was to enhance the children’s speech and language skills. However this major grant from the National Lottery now makes it possible for the sessions to include areas such as occupational therapy.
“Our ethos is ‘empowering parents to help their little stars shine’,” added Louise. “We have every faith that these little ones will achieve amazing things and we’re extremely proud to be playing our part in helping this to happen.”
In addition to the development sessions Shine21 offers families access to a resources library with books and equipment, provides support and information for expectant parents, and offers families fully-funded Level 1 Makaton training. To find out more about Shine21 visit www.shine21.org